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| Axis of Evil |
| HMS Ocean joins Task Force |
| 2003-01-16 |
| The Royal Navy's largest warship, HMS Ocean, has set sail for the Mediterranean. The vessel, which is based at Devonport in Plymouth, has more than 1,000 service personnel on board, including 300 Royal Marines, 400 aircrew and 20 helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton. Ocean, which left with Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland, is to join the rest of a Royal Navy Task Force for exercises in the eastern Mediterranean. However, military leaders say they are prepared for frontline action should there be a war with Iraq. Royal Marines from 40 Commando on board have just spent two months in training both at altitude and in arid conditions. Two naval air squadrons from Somerset are on board with Sea King, Lynx and Gazelle helicopters. They will provide the vital amphibious assault role that is the extra element now that the Ocean has to be ready for action. Ocean's departure follows what has been a busy week of comings and goings at Devonport. HMS Chatham and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Fort Rosalie sailed earlier in the week. The ships are joining a flotilla of 16 vessels, which is Britain's biggest maritime taskforce since the Falklands War more than 20 years ago. The task force is being led by the Ark Royal, which left Portsmouth at the weekend and stopped off at the Glen Douglas base on Loch Long in Argyll for stores and munitions on Monday before setting sail again on Thursday. Good sailing, Mates. Happy to have you on board. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 Actually the seventh Ocean. The first Ocean was a French ship captured at the Battle of Lagos Bay in 1759. That's how the name Ocean for British warships came into use. #2 was a 90 gun 2nd rate of 1,833 tons built in Chatham in 1761. #3 was launched at Woolwich in 1806, three days after the battle of Trafalgar. She was a 98 gun 2nd rate of 2,291 tons. #4 was launched in 1863 as an iron clad of 24 guns. #5 was a 12,950 tons battleship, launched in 1898 and sunk on March 18, 1915 in the Dardanelles. #6 was the 1945 light fleet carrier, and #7 is sailing to Iraq. |
| Posted by: Caton 2003-01-17 04:23:35 |
| #1 HMS Ocean was built by Kvaerner Govan on the Clyde taking advantage of commercial build methods and facilities, before sailing from Barrow-in-Furness for fitting out prior to acceptance into service with the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 October 1995 and named by Her Majesty The Queen on 20 February 1998, at the yard of the prime contractor Vickers Shipbuilding Engineering Limited, prior to the delivery voyage to her base port of Devonport. She was commissioned on 30 September 1998 and completed her trials programme and initial BOST (Basic Operational Sea Training) in the spring of 1999. The Amphibious Helicopter Carrier was originally conceived in the mid 1980's to provide the sort of amphibious assault capabilities last offered by HM Ships Albion and Bulwark. The ship's primary role is to carry an Embarked Military Force (EMF) supported by 12 medium support helicopters, 6 attack helicopters and 4 Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP) Mk 5 Landing Craft. Her secondary roles include afloat training, a limited anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platform and a base for anti-terrorist operations. HMS Ocean is the sixth ship to bear the name, the most recent being a Light Fleet Carrier also built on the Clyde and commissioned on 30 June 1945. She became renowned for the first true jet aircraft landing onboard a ship at sea by a Vampire Jet on 3 December 1945, her part in the Korean war and later the Suez crisis. Source |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-01-16 08:45:52 |